Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-11-18
WELCOME TO ARMOUR.
shall the Peoples Interests he Con-
sidered, or Those OF the ButchersY--
Warkingman ExnresseA IL.

shall the Peoples interests he Cen
sidered, or Those OF the Butcherss--
A WOrkingman Expresses 1t.
The ARGUS has heretofore noted the
united stand of the butchers of the three
cities to shut Phil Armour's meats out of
the local markets-DaveBport, Rock ISL
and and Moline-and to do this the
butchers demand inspection. In ether
words, the butchers of Rock Island pro-
pose to ask restrictions upon Mr. Armour,
such as they themselves resisted with all
the power they could summon to their
command. The ARGUS does not believe
in fact, it feels reasonably certain-that
the Rock Island common council is
too level-headed body to listen to the
rebelling butchers of this city should they
come with any such request, after they
have sought and succeeded in max
ing an institution which the taxpay>
ers paid, Il dead letter As for the ARGUS
it says welcome to Phil Armour or any
other man who will come to Rock Island
and reduce the price of any of the neces>
saries of life. 1t is as it was in the
Huesing abbatoir fight-the interests of
few banded merchants against the COM
mon interests of the people, and the
ARGUS proposes to be found as it was
then, on the side of the people.
A Moline working man, we believe,
expresses the opinion of every working
man in Rock Island in well written let
ter to the Dispatch of that city. We
copy it:
wish to say word in regard to the
article in last evenings Dispatch relating
to the butchers. The reason why they
kick so hard about Armour coming here
to sell meat. is because they are afraid il
will bust up" their combination here in
Moline, where they have had the biggest
| picnic of any combination that was ever
| started here. Why is it that meat is
| higher here in Moline, Rock Island and
| Davenport than in other placesY Why,
simply because they are all combined to-
| gether, and agree to keep the prices up.
and fill their own pockets. How can
they sell meat from two to five cents
cheaper in other places than they do
heref In Princeton | bought sirloin
steak for ten cents a pound, and it was
sixteen ounces, too. This Princeton
butcher did not slam it on the scales till
the indicator flew around to the two pound
mark, and then jerk it off before it could
come back to the actual weight. and say
quarter" or forty cents, but never be-
low twenty-five cents. At Sabula ]
bought one pound of sirloin steak for
eight cents, and as tender piece of meat
as WAS ever eaten. And now right here
in Moline poor man cant buy ten cents
worth of meat at any of the meat shops
You go and ask for a dimes worth OF
steak, and what answer do you get? Il
is simply gruff haven't got it," when
there will be a big pile of it lying on the
| counter.
What are US poor devils that are earn
ing only 81 80 day to do for meat? We
have to go without It-thats what's thu
matter. say let Armour or any othe
man come in here that the combination
cant bulldoZe or run out, and sell meat
and you will soon see how much les
your meat bill is for month. or year
1t will be two thirds less, and you vii
have more meat and just as good.
And as for diseased meats. | think yo1
can get rs badly diseased meats here a
: Armour sells. think it will be rathe
difficult as the Dispatch said last even
ing, ito convince the public that the com
ing OF Armour does not mean increase
competition and lower prices" 1t mean
that all the butchers will combine agains
Armour, as they have always done again;
any new conner, and run him out if the
can; and say let them fight, as it will /
a big fight, and the public will get GOO
meat at an honest price while they are {
it. And it means that n poor man ca
buy ten cents worth of meat when
can't afford to buy any greater quantity
will never kick about an honest prof
but the way the Moline butchers ha'
used US in the past would make des
man kick.
They say in one part of their plea Thu
butchers pay two and one half cents
the farm, and in another part say it cos
them five and one half cents on the hook
What does it cost US on our hooks, VIII
we can get our hooks" on it?
Let Armour come, and sell US just
good beef as we get now, for half t
price. and If we can afford to buy but
cents worth at time, I'll bet we will g
it with as good grace as if we bought
dollars worth. A Poor MAN.
Moline, H., Nov Is.